"It's those private jobs that area really helping with the momentum," she said.

Construction gained roughly 100 jobs in October. But only 3,600 construction jobs existed in the county last month, compared to 5,610 in the third quarter of 2007, before the local economy contracted.

Retail hires to handle the holiday-shopping load kept the jobless rate under 7 percent, as well, according to Court. Ground-transportation companies continue to hire workers to support the dozens of drivers they've just hired for the holidays.

New federal hiring is helping, too. On top of the reported 500 new positions being added at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the shipyard now is releasing new contracts to companies that work for it. The spate of new defense-contractor work, while typically short-term, begins in January, according to Margaret Hess, manager of WorkSource of Kitsap County.

"That has a domino effect on the labor market in our area," she said.

Year over year, the local labor market now is looking better than a year ago, Hess said.

But holiday and contractor work doesn't last forever, showing just how shaky any gains in employment might be.

Bob Middlebrook, executive director of Sound Works Job Center of Poulsbo, said that outside of retail hiring for the holidays, he's not seeing a brighter picture at all.

"I'm not seeing it; I wish I was," he said.

Veterans and professionals are having a tough time, as are freshly minted graphic artists and engineers who've just completed college. Without experience, they're not getting hired, he said.